{Last Clinic Day!!!}

I can't believe it!!!  I never thought this day would come!!  Today wasn't too terrible, but not as relaxed as I was picturing for some reason.  Clinic wasn't too bad...kinda boring :)  We just went over emergency procedures, clinic assistant duties, and TalEval grading, etc.  Then we took our Clinic Manual Test, which wasn't terrible, but a little more in depth than I was expecting.  No big deal though.  We also had to fill out a sheet for a reflection on our real patient day.  I also had my Radiology practical exam.  It was a bit stressful in one area especially, but I think I did okay.  I just hate the pressure of being tested!  I hope I did good!!  We shall see!  One piece of good news....we don't have to come to school on Jan. 2 because public transportation is not going that day!  Yahoo!!  That means we don't have to see an actual patient until the following Monday instead of our first week back!  I just can't believe next semester is already almost here.  I hope I survive!

{REAL Pt. day!}

Well folks, the big day came and went, just like that!  I was pretty nervous all weekend and had a hard time falling asleep last night.  I woke up super early and got to clinic way early to get everything all set up.  My awesome hubby Matt came up and was my first victim. :)  I so appreciate him taking time out of his busy day to support me!  Everything went well and was not too terrible.  I was only able to get through the OD and x-rays.  I was so hoping to be able to scale a quad, but my OD check seemed to take forever, and I wasn't signed up for x-rays till about 10:00, so I felt like I was waiting to get those done.  At least I didn't have any retakes.  Wahoo!!  Overall, I felt like today was a really good learning experience and a good refresher for how to start an appt. from scratch.  I can't say that I'm less stressed about next semester, but I have a feeling that I'll get through it, just like everyone else! :)  I just need to stay positive and pray that I can find enough patients to fill my schedule.  I can't believe that we are almost done with clinic this semester!  But I'm not sad--just very excited to have a nice long Christmas break!  Can't wait!!!

{Mock Pt. Day 4}

Today I was the pt. once again for Marie.  It went really well and she didn't even hurt me once!  Yahoo!  She is awesome!  She was speedy and got done really quickly.  After I was done, I passed off my sharpening PE!  That's it for PEs folks! (Well...at least for this semester).  I cannot believe how fast this semester went!  Next time is the real test.....REAL patients.  AAAH!  At least it's my husband, so he has to be nice! :)  Well, until then!

{Mock Patient Day 3}

Today I got to be the patient!  It was so nice to just sit and relax and not have to worry about passing anything off.  Marie was my operator today and did a great job!  It's good to be the operator, and then sit back and be the patient and go over everything again.  Such a good review!  Today was our last lab day in Radiology.  I can't believe it! I just can't believe that we see our first real pt. on Monday.  I'm excited and nervous!  Now I get to go home and study my brains out for Anatomy tomorrow.  School is almost over and I'm so happy about that, except that means that 2nd semester is quickly approaching and I'm scared to death.  Peace out!

{Mock Pt. Day 2!}

I have loved this week in clinic.  I was so stressed out and nervous for nothing!  Today, Marie was my pt. again and was awesome!  Today I finished the last two quads I needed to do...UL, LL...sel pol, df, and fl.  I was a little nervous again to start scaling, especially in an area that I haven't had much experience in.  There were definitely areas that were harder to navigate, but I feel like it went pretty well!  I did poke Marie and make her bleed in one area, but she didn't even jump.  It wasn't until I saw the blood that I realized I had hurt her.  Sorry!  I got done pretty quickly, mostly because she had hardly anything to clean off, and got my scale check.  I did miss one little area on 21-M.  I could hardly feel it, but I got my 204S in there and scaled it off really quickly.  It's definitely going to be a challenge to be able to feel those teeny tiny deposits.  I had a really hard time feeling that with the explorer when Inst. Caldwell was going over it. Oh well, that will come soon enough!  I definitely need to take a little more time with exploring certain areas after I've finished probing, because I think I got a little too overexcited about getting done.  Ha!  Polishing went good, and flossing somebody else's teeth is extremely awkward I've decided!  Oh well, I did it and it all went pretty good!  I really enjoyed being able to put everything together and get a better idea of what it will be like next semester.  I'm very excited to be able to sit back and relax next week!

{Mock Pt. Day}

I was so stressed out last night and this morning prepping myself for this day.  I was just really nervous about scaling because we haven't done it very much and I just felt really inadequate.  As soon as I got into the groove with probing, I was feeling alright.  I was the operator for Marie today, and she was very patient and good to work on.  She had like zero calculus, so at least I got to practice my angulation and adaptation. :)  Today made me really excited for when we start to see patients.  I'm also very nervous to do it too because there is a lot to remember!  Well, Wednesday, we get to finish up our patient, then it's two clinic days of nothing but relaxing!  Can't wait!!

{Eaglesoft walkout, sharpening}

Today was a pretty good day, but crazy!  The first part, we went over again how to properly sharpen our instruments, which we learned a little in class.  Not too bad, just annoying!  Then we were shown how to do the walkout on Eaglesoft which was no biggie.  Then we were given a bit of time to pass of PEs.  Well, I was paired up with Marie, which was good!  I passed off my air/powder polish and fluoride PEs on her.  She didn't have anymore teeth to be sealed, so I did one on Candice.  It felt good to get all three done today.  Now there are only two more!  I can't believe it!  I never thought we would get through those PEs!  I'm excited/nervous for the next two weeks.  We will go through a "mock" appointment with our peers.  It will be fun to be able to just go for it without worrying about passing something off.  I am excited to finally be able to put it all together.  Then, it's the REAL patient day.  So exciting!

{Sealants}

Today was fun, but I felt a little crunched for time.  I got to work with cute Jacque!  She was a dream patient!  We learned how to properly place a sealant.  I did sealants a couple of times in my office, but never really knew the absolute proper way to do it. Clean off the surface with either air/powder polisher or the brush tip prophy angle, rinse, dry, place etch, rinse, dry, place sealant, cure, check the bite.  Not too bad!  It's just a lot easier to work on an easy patient instead of a slobbery child. :)  Jacque had most of her sealants still on her molars and premolars and also a few occlusal fills.  I had the doctor come over and check and he found a small groove on #29 to seal.  I almost didn't have a tooth to seal!  I couldn't pass off my air/powder polish because Jacque had all sealants and fills, so next time!  I did pass off my selective polish and Eaglesoft tx plan.  Overall, it was a good day! 

{Air/powder polisher, selective polish, varnish}

Can I just say "yuck" and "ouch"?!  Today we whipped out the air/powder polisher and I hated it!  It was horrid and my lips are just barely getting back to normal.  I was paired up with Candice, and I was the operator first.  Well, she definitely didn't like it at all, so when it was my turn, I could definitely see why!  I could definitely see why it could be so helpful in removing stain.  We practiced on a penny first and got to see it clean off all the dinginess.  It was pretty cool.  Just not when it's in your mouth!  After that, we did the selective polish, which I've done a couple times when I was an assistant.  Definitely more fun to do and have done!  Then, we did the fluoride varnish which is gross!  It feels like you have a fur coat on every surface of your teeth.  Oh well, at least it is good for my teeth!  Overall, pretty good day!  I'm anxiously awaiting the end of the semester and a nice break!  I am just really really nervous to actually see patients next semester.  Aaaaahhh!!!

{Treatment Planning}

Well, let me begin by saying that I woke up at 7:30.  7:30!!!!  Aaaah!  I need to be in clinic by 7:50 in order to get my unit set up, etc. and it takes me about 25 minutes to get to school.  OH MY GOSH!  I was freaking out, running around my house like crazy and praying my head off to be able to get to school at least right at 8:00.  So, luckily there was a parking spot close across from the tennis courts, so I won't get a ticket, and I RAN my little legs off to get into clinic at 8:02.  Phew!!  Well, everyone was in the instructor pod and I slipped in with only a few noticing me.  I'm just really glad that clinic was so easy going today.  We learned how to do a treatment plan for our patient, and then got to practice.  I practiced OHI, passed it off, and then got to go over the intraoral camera PE again.  Unfortunately there are only a couple of cameras and other pods got them first, so I'll pass it off next time.  I also got some practice on my dental screening PE, and am hoping to be ready by next time to get that passed off and do well on it.  Overall, very nice, laid back day.  I definitely needed it because the last couple of weeks have been crazy!

{Practice}

Today was a pretty good day!  I really like Wednesday clinic so much better than Monday.  I just feel like there are a lot more people to go around that can help us out.  So, today we learned how to enter a pt. into TalEval (super easy), and then we did another practice on OD.  I also had to pass off my Universal Scaling PE and felt good about it!  I definitely have a long way to go still.  Today, I was paired up with Marcy.  She is super cute and way fun to work with.  I was the operator first, and I felt like I did SO much better on the OD this time.  I was able to get everything done, even probe half the mouth, in the time we were given.  Yahoo!  Then Marcy went and did fabulous!  Overall, it was a good day and I liked being able to get some more practice on how an appointment will go.  We are that much closer to real patient day.  Yikes!

{Intraoral camera and OD practice}

So, today was a little tough for me for some reason.  I was just having a really off day.  First off, as soon as we got there, they tell us that we will are paired up with somebody and will be doing HHx, HHRx, and the full OD.  I thought we were just learning about the intraoral camera, and then have tons of time to practice scaling.  NOT!  So, I was paired up with April!  Yay!  I was the patient first.  We just had to check if there were any changes since last time, write the HHxRx, then get a signature.  No biggie.  Then we went over the extra., intra., dental screening, and probing.  Then practice scaling.  Well, the first group went over a little bit because they didn't let us know when we needed to switch.  So, our group was super rushed, which kind of stressed me out.  As soon as I got to where I could practice scaling, we had to learn how to use the intraoral camera.  It seems pretty easy, but it's just one more PE.  Then when it was my turn to pass off, we had 5 minutes left, and I still hadn't transferred what I charted into April's chart.  Gah!  Well, the passing off didn't go so well.  I passed, but barely.  I felt like she had to keep correcting me.  I felt so much better about it last week and this weekend.  Then, when I was under pressure, I choked.  Oh well,  it's a learning experience.  I just have a bad attitude and am in serious need of a break.  Well, hopefully I can be more prepared for my universal scaling on Wednesday. 

{Dental screening}

Today was a pretty good day.  We learned how to chart all the fun things we found in eachother's mouths.  I worked on Mark today and had a hard time seeing composite fillings.  Some of those things look so good you can't even tell!  I know I will get better!  After that we had about an hour to practice scaling.  I took that opportunity to practice my anterior scaling.  I feel like I'm starting to catch on, which feels good.  I know I have a LONG way to go, but it will all eventually click.  When we first started this, I couldn't adapt that instrument to the tooth for the life of me, but I did a much better job this time around and wasn't as scared to get in there and do it.  My biggest problem now is indirect vision.  That stuff is hard!  I'm going to practice a lot this weekend because I have to pass of anterior scaling on Monday.  I feel okay about posterior scaling, but know I still need to practice that too.  Oh I just need lots and lots of practice!  It's just a little nerve racking when you have and instructor and a professor leaning down over your patient watching your every little move in your mirror while you attempt indirect vision.  My stomach was in knots, just a little bit for those couple of minutes.  I'm just grateful they are there to correct you and teach you little tricks.  Well, until next time!

{Disclosing}

Today we got to disclose eachother with some nasty purple ink stuff (disclosing agent) that tasted horrible.  We were able to see where we missed brushing.  My PFI was 86%...not too bad, but could be better.  We paired up with other students besides those in our pods.  I was with Kayla, and she went first.  She did a good job doing the disclosing, giving me OHI, and then scaling.  She passed off her anterior scaling and I was jealous!  I should have done it, but I'm just not quite there yet.  I still need to practice and get more confident. She was a great patient and did help me out a lot! I did get my instrument classification PE passed off today, so that was good! Overall, clinic wasn't bad since we did get a good amount of time to practice scaling.  I still have a long way to go!  I just hope I can catch on quickly because I feel like some of the people in here already know what they are doing!  Oh well, it takes time!  I'm tired and need to study now.  Boo. 
Adios!

{Universal Scaling}

Today was actually a pretty good day.  We learned how to scale the posteriors with the Barnhart and the 204S.  At first it was a little confusing to me on which was the working end, but then it was explained to me that you find it like you would find the explorer end.  Not too bad...just need more practice like everything else.  I was also able to pass of my probing PE and exploring PE.  Let's be honest...I was pretty nervous about passing those off, but once I got going and was using loupes, I was fine!  My time was pretty bad...8.5 minutes :) , but hey, I'll get faster.  I'm not too worried about it.  So...now I get to study for Costley's test, do my module for her class, study for anatomy, and hope I get to sleep at some point tonight! 

{Anterior scaling}

Oh boy...what a day!!  It all started off when I made it to clinic this morning at exactly 8:00 am while everyone was in the instructor pod listening intently to Professor Costley's directions for the day.  Ugh!  I HATE when I am late....especially to clinic.  We were set loose and started practicing anterior scaling on our typodonts and then eachother.  Me and Candice were partners today and she went first.  She did awesome!  She is seriously a natural.  Then it was me....oh man.  I was doing okay until I started working on her maxillary anteriors and for some reason while I was fulcruming, my knuckle of my thumb went right into her little nostril.  Well, she just sweetly sat there and breathed in my knuckle until I realized it.  Ha!  I am pretty talented ya know.  We had a good laugh about that one!!  She is a trooper!  Then, right after that happened, I pretty much rammed my sickle right into her gums...not once, but twice....and probably many more times than that!  I felt so bad!  Sorry buddy!  Hopefully I will get better with time.  I have no problem getting my fulcrum and my instrument started, but then I can't seem to adapt quickly enough.  I was hoping to be able to pass of my Probe and Explorer PEs, but was a big fat chicken and didn't do it.  I still really struggle with those dang linguals.  Well I have to buck up next time and do it because it is due.  Way to go on leaving it till the last minute.  Radiology lab was going oh so fabulously today, until I got a little too confident and didn't remember Instructor Vining saying specifically, "Don't run your ScanX through until you come and talk to me."  Well, I just let that go in one ear and out the other because I marched right over to that drum and starting running those puppies through like I was a pro.  After the last one went through, he came over and laughed at me a little.  I lost ALL of my 8 films except one because we were adding to the other half of the FMX we took last time and you had to run each through one by one, otherwise, you would lose them all.  I felt so stupid!!!  I was able to redo them pretty quickly and really only needed one retake, but he didn't make me do it because he felt bad for me!  Oh man, sometimes I do some pretty amazing things.  Last but not least, we had to stay at school until 8:30 for a CE course and I am BEAT!  Now I have to study for Perry's quiz tomorrow on Embryology.  Kill me.  Well, until next time!

{Instrument Classification}

The concept we learned today was not too difficult.  We layed out all of our instruments and learned the differences and what they are used for.  There are curets and sickles, tipped and toed, posterior and anterior, rigid and nonrigid.  It was nice to actually pull them all out and figure out what they are all for.  We then bagged them and got them set up to be sterilized.  I can't believe we will start using them on Monday! Exciting, but scary!  Then we had a set up race which Laken won!  Wahoo....go Laken!  Unfortunately our pod didn't win, even though we had quite the strategy going in to it.  Ha!  After the race, we were able to pass of the intraoral exam PE.  I was nervous going in to it, but once I started, I remembered everything I needed to and it went well.  Then we had a little bit of time to practice probing.  We are supposed to pass of probing and exploring next Wednesday.  I'll be honest....I'm freaking out!  I get the concept of probing....the angulation and adaptation to the tooth, but my speed is so SLOW!  I think I'm just not confident in myself and my ability to read the lines on the probe.  Ugh!  I just really hope my husband will let me torture him this weekend so I can get a quad done in 3 minutes.  That seems like such a long time, but when I get going, I feel like the time just flies.  And I'm nervous about exploring too, because our instructor on Monday only wanted us to stay supragingival and we need to go sub when we pass of the PE.  Well, I just hope and pray that there is a little time on Monday to practice that.  I'm wanting to get probing out of the way on Monday, because I don't think there will be enough time on Wednesday to do probing and exploring, especially because TAs can't pass off any kind of instrumentation.  I'm probably stressing over nothing, but I just want to be able to do these skills well so that I'm not completely lost next semester when we will be working on patients.  Well, at least Costley's test is out of the way and now I get to go study for her class tomorrow.  Yipee.

{Exploring}

Oh boy, what a day.  We started exploring!  It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  It's definitely a challenge for me to find the correct working end, but I felt like I could catch on pretty quickly with some practice.  Our instructor had us stay supragingivally today so that we could get the feel of how to correctly angle and adapt to the tooth, so we weren't shredding eachother's gums up today.  Laken was my partner and she did awesome!  I was the operator first, so when I was done, I got to sit back and relax! Next Wednesday is when we have to have probing and exploring done!  Aaaah!  I really hope I can get enough practice between now and then.  Radiology was kind of a pain in the rear today.  Apparently we are all supposed to be proficient in taking digital films, when we have only worked with ScanX on the very first day, and Schick last week taking BWX.  I couldn't remember how to work the ScanX system on Eaglesoft because it was only shown to us once.  So, I asked a couple questions and was made to feel like a complete idiot because I wasn't perfect at it.  Gah!!!!  Luckily, I think we got it all worked out and communicated, so we should be good now.  After today I feel like I know the digital systems pretty well and could pass off those PEs with no problem.  I just don't like it when I ask a legitimate question and get eyes rolled at me.  It makes me feel really stupid and afraid to ask anything.  I was able to pass off my film mounting PE in radiology with Professor McConaughy today.  Now on to studying my brains out in hopes of at least passing Costley's exam tomorrow.  Wish me luck and pray that I don't die!  Peace out!

{Probing}

All I can say is.....I need a TON of practice!  I went over the readings in Nield, PAT, and the clinic manual last night and had it down.  Well, reading and doing are two totally different things!  We first practiced on marshmallows and candy corns to get down how the epithelial attachment should feel and the small amount of pressure needed and to angle our probes.  After that, we practiced on the typodont and tried to feel for angulation on buccal and lingual, as well as the col area.  I was freaking out a little because I had a really hard time feeling for the col!  We then watched a demo. on how to correctly probe and chart a quadrant.  Those TAs sure know what they are doing.  She made it look so easy and just whipped around those teeth like it was nothing.  Then it was our turn. DUN DUN DUN! ha!  I was the patient first with Mark as the operator.  He did a really good job and really didn't hurt me at all.  Then it was my turn.  {Freakout moment}.  Mark was so patient with me and very nice.  I did have my pressure a little too hard on him in a couple of spots and I'm really glad he let me know.  I was able to practice with some loupes and can I say...I'm in LOVE!  They were a little hard to get used to, but man, they made reading the probe SO much easier!  I feel pretty good about my angulation on the posteriors, but once I got to the linguals on the anteriors....I felt lost.  I could not keep the tip of that probe in the sulcus for the life of me.  Mark's #25 was poked WAY more than it should have been.  Having to use indirect vision doesn't make my life any easier!  Once I moved back to the linguals of the posteriors, it got a little better, but then you are dealing with saliva and the tongue.  GAH!  Well, all I can say is that I have a lot more to learn, and just need to be patient with myself.  I mean, I have only done it for about 30 minutes total.  I just need to learn how to do a quad in 3 minutes and get those measurements within 1 mm of the instructor's.  On a good note...I was able to pass of my vitals PE as well as my Extraoral exam PE!  Whoop!  Well, now I have a splitting headache, and am pretty sweaty (TMI, I know).  I'm just happy for no class the rest of the week.  HALLELUJAH! 

{Intraoral exams}

Today we were able to perform intraoral exams.  I got to work with Laken today!  Yay for that!  It was fun to be able to actually see inside a real patient's mouth, instead of the typodont.  I really need to work on my posture though.  The instructor kept having to remind me to sit up straight....I tend to lean over to try and see.  Some of the structures were a little harder to see, but overall, not too bad.  I just hope I can remember them all!  It's pretty crazy that probably in no other program are you getting this close and personal with your classmates.  Haha!  Most people don't want their friends peeking at all the nooks and crannies inside their mouth.  Today I was able to pass off my HHX/HHRx PE.  Hallelujah!!  Man there is a lot to remember with that procedure.  I just need to do my vitals and extraoral on Wednesday if we have time.    Yay for a short week!

{Extraoral exams}

Today was great!  We learned how to perform extraoral exams.  It was more like a mini massage!  It was cool to be able to feel for the different structures and see that for the most part, everyone is the same, but there are definite differences from person to person.  After we practiced on a couple of people, we had a bunch of time left over.  I practiced my mirror/instrument grasp and fulcrum.  I got a lot of really good tips on chair positions from Professor Hafen and Michelle.  They are so awesome!!  Then, I passed them both off.  It was good to practice some more and really feel the difference when you actually fulcrum correctly.  Overall, good day!  Now on to studying for Radiology test #2 and Costley's class tomorrow. It will be nice to have this week over!  Adios!

{Vitals}

Clinic today was pretty easy and straightforward.  We practiced taking pulse, respirations, and BP on each other.  Pretty sure it took two people trying about 10 times on my right arm and getting no BP.  Fabulous!  My left arm did just fine!  I'm glad I'm alive!  After that, we had a lot of time to practice past PEs.  I practiced my pt. positioning/fulcrum and instrument grasp for quite awhile.  By the time I wanted to pass them off, we were out of time.  Dang!  I will get those out of the way on Wednesday.  We also had Radiology lab today and boy was it long.  We practiced bisecting on the Dexters and I think we were all ready to drop kick them out the door by the end of the day.  Dang those crooked teeth and shallow pallets!  Bisecting is not my friend!  Now I've got to study and be ready for a quiz in Perry's class tomorrow morning, Radiology test in the evening and another Radiology test later in the week.  Awesome.

{HHx & HHRx. YIKES!}

What a day in clinic.  We went over Health Histories and how to have the pt. fill it out and what we have to expound on in our notes.  There was A LOT to remember on what to underline, what to circle, how to word everything, looking up meds, side effects, how to make them feel comfortable, the right questions to ask, and then writing down a "heads up" to the next clinician in the HHRx.  Sheesh!  And that was only 2 parts to the charting that we have to do.  There is much more ahead that we have to write down.  You could write a novel on somebody who is on 5 medications!  I can see why we do it and why documenting everything is so important.  It's just that there is SO MUCH TO REMEMBER!!!  I'm glad Prof. Costley is giving us a case study to do on all of this, because I'm definitely going to need practice.  We were able to practice on pod partners in clinic, but when we are all in pretty good health, there isn't much that you have to do.  After clinic, we watched a movie, "If Saliva were Red", and all I have to say is YUCK!  It was pretty eye opening on why it is so important to protect yourself and everything you touch.  If saliva were red, I would have to switch careers most definitely!  I'm also happy to announce I have taken my first test of the DH program and finally feel like I am a real student.  Well....until Monday!

{Pt. positioning, instrument grasp, and fulcrum!}

Today was really fun!  We learned all about proper ergonomics as the operator.  How to sit, work, and where the patient needs to be in relation to the area we work on in the mouth.  I'm really glad they make it a big deal to sit properly, because of how important it is to keep your neck and spine in line, as well as your hands and wrists.  I never knew you could get such terrible injuries from a job that you just sit down at! :)  We also went over how the patient needs to be positioned, and all of the clock positions.  I made sure to read in Nield last night and I feel like it really helped me to make sense of it all.  It can be confusing to know where you need to sit, the direction the face needs to be turned, and where the light needs to be.  I know that all of that will become second nature soon.  It really is just common sense if you think about it.  We also learned about proper instrument grasp and fulcrum.  They let us loose and we were able to practice all of that on our typodonts.  It was a little awkward, I won't lie.  But I feel like the more I do it, and get some muscle memory, I won't even have to think about it.  Just remember....stack those fingers!!  I had a tendency to let my pinkie go wayward!  I'm going to really try and focus on my posture and get good at indirect vision.  Indirect vision is hard on the linguals of the anteriors!  If that had been a real pt., they would have been bleeding like crazy! :)  I was also able to pass off 2 PEs today!  Exposure control set up/ Exposure control tear down and maintenance!  It feels good to be caught up!  Now I need to practice, practice, practice what we learned today!  Enough rambling....peace out!!

{Set up, tear down, suction!}

Today was a pretty good day!  We all learned how to properly set up our units for pt. treatment, and tear down after you are done.  It's not difficult, just making sure that you have everything barriered that needs it is the only tricky thing.  I passed off my PPE PE also!  Yay!  Also, we were able to practice suction on our pod partners.  Me and Candice worked together today!  We got used to using our blue boa, HVE, and saliva ejector on each other.  Candice did a great job...I didn't drown!  Hopefully next time I can pass off the two PEs we learned today.  I just really don't want to get behind, especially on the simple PEs.  Well...see ya Wednesday!

Personal Protective Equipment

Today was our second day in clinic.  It was a pretty fun day!  We went over the PPE PE.  It was really good to know why we do things a certain way.  I started a pretty bad habit of putting my mask under my chin while working as an assistant in private practice.  I never really thought about all the aerosols and bacteria that can be in the mask and on your face.  We also went over the correct way to do it.  Mask, eyewear, and hands.  Hands need to be washed in three 15 second intervals.  Outside, rinse, interdigital, rinse, fingernails, and final rinse.  Hands need to be completely dry, and then the gloves can be put on over the cuff of our lab coats.  Ann Arrington came in today to show us her invention: the Blue Boa.  We got to practice using it on our typodonts.  It's pretty interesting, and I'm sure it will be a huge help when we actually start using the Ultrasonic.  She was really nice and very willing to answer any questions or give us tips.  We were also able to practice using the HVE, saliva ejector, and the A/W syringe on our typodonts.  It was fun to feel like I was actually doing something. I was also able to pass off my Eaglesoft PE.  One down, a million to go! :)

Clinic Day 1, and Eaglesoft

Today was our first day of clinic!  It was really fun getting all set up in our units and getting to know the others in our pods.  First, we met all together in the clinic instructor area and went over the schedule.  Then we went back to our units and got familiar with the Eaglesoft PE.  I'm used to Dentrix, so Eaglesoft was a little different, but doesn't seem too complicated.  We scheduled ourselves in our operatories for the rest of the semester, so that was fun to see.  Then we got familiar with our units and found where everything was and how everything worked.  Next, we went on a little scavenger hunt to help us get more familiar with the DH department.  It was good to see where everything was and get a little more familiar with everything.  Finally, we got all moved into our units and put all of our instruments away.  It was nice to get rid of the huge box finally! :)  Overall, clinic was pretty stress free and fun!  I'm sure it will get a whole lot more stressful as time goes on and the PEs start getting more challenging and start piling up.  I just need to get a little more familiar with Eaglesoft and get really organized.  So until next time!

My first official post!

Today was orientation day and we got all of our instruments and lab coats.  I can't believe school starts so soon.  I'm definitely stressed, but excited.  I've gotten lots of information and paid lots of money...but it will be worth it in the end!